I played yesterday against a woman who goes for broke all the time, on every single shot. She missed a lot but when she connected there wasn't a damn thing I could do but watch the ball whizz past me. After a while I got so annoyed because of her style of play, that I found myself unconsciously imitating her and going for shots too early. Luckily my coach was there and I caught a look from him saying "what the fuck are you doing?" and I stopped, calmed myself down, and played my game. In the end I won but I have to wonder, if my coach wasn't there, would she have beat me?

Has anyone been in a similar situation? Other than just playing your own game, are there particular techniques for playing go-for-broke type players? I missed most of the Federer-Blake finals at Cincy so I have no idea how Federer schooled him 6-1 in the first but I bet I would have learned a lot!

"A kiss is a lovely trick designed by nature to stop speech when words become superfluous..."

I missed most of the Federer-Blake finals at Cincy so I have no idea how Federer schooled him 6-1 in the first but I bet I would have learned a lot!

federer beat him 6-1 because firstly he is a far superior player to james blake and secondly because james blake absoolutely shits himself everytime roger federer is over the other side of the net to him

Personally, I've never faced someone who's gone for it on every shot. I have, however, faced servers who do...and gosh is it intimidating. Between trying to concentrate on the ball toss and then direction, hoping to even get my racket on it...and then having to make the calls . I'm sure I gave away plenty of points simply because I was too involved to make a decent call.

During a point, though, I guess I'm a little more relaxed and am more than willing to just say, eh, nice shot. I'll watch the ball all the way to the line even if I miss one that happens to clip it...because these types are gonna win the point or they aren't. I just hope I win more than they do.

But I feel your pain. It's as frustrating to play someone like that as it is to play someone who never goes for it...simply waiting for me to make the error. That's when I really have to dig deep to stick to my game plan.

I played a guy two months ago who went for broke on every shot and almost all of them went in. Even on his second serve he hit a first and he only made like five double faults. It was such a pain in the ass.

federer beat him 6-1 because firstly he is a far superior player to james blake and secondly because james blake absoolutely shits himself everytime roger federer is over the other side of the net to him

So Federer did nothing special against James' go-for-broke style? That's hard to believe. Surely there was a clue as to what one does against such a player?

"A kiss is a lovely trick designed by nature to stop speech when words become superfluous..."

Federer can usually read where Blake's going to hit it, his defence is very impressive. A lot of Blake's shots would've been winners against most guys but Federer kept getting them back and with something on it as well.

I guess there's not too much you can do other than guess. Sooner or later they'll start missing, best thing to do is focus on your own game. If they were able to hit winners every shot they'd be a pro, so the chances are they're not consistent and will eventually begin to miss. Try not to get annoyed as well, look on the bright side - you're not trying to return Karlovic's serve

Federer can usually read where Blake's going to hit it, his defence is very impressive. A lot of Blake's shots would've been winners against most guys but Federer kept getting them back and with something on it as well.

I guess there's not too much you can do other than guess. Sooner or later they'll start missing, best thing to do is focus on your own game. If they were able to hit winners every shot they'd be a pro, so the chances are they're not consistent and will eventually begin to miss. Try not to get annoyed as well, look on the bright side - you're not trying to return Karlovic's serve

Lovely response. Thank you so much. Everything you said was spot on. Let's go rep you.

"A kiss is a lovely trick designed by nature to stop speech when words become superfluous..."

On second thought, we joined this board around the same time, yet you have 51,000+ posts more than I do. WTF??? Do you do anything other than post in here? Why aren't you outside playing some tennis??????

"A kiss is a lovely trick designed by nature to stop speech when words become superfluous..."

Break the rythm and keep the ball low with slices and try to get to net whenever you can get on to the attcking side of things.

Also, a good tactic against this kind of player that often goes unused is playing the ball with very little pace down the middle of the court. Of course, at a high level you will get spanked for this but assuming you are not playing Blake you will usually get results. Itis surprisingly hard to attack a ball that comes down the middle of the court if you hit the ball fairly flat.

Champions deserve whatever they win playing within the laws of the game

Break the rythm and keep the ball low with slices and try to get to net whenever you can get on to the attcking side of things.

Also, a good tactic against this kind of player that often goes unused is playing the ball with very little pace down the middle of the court. Of course, at a high level you will get spanked for this but assuming you are not playing Blake you will usually get results. Itis surprisingly hard to attack a ball that comes down the middle of the court if you hit the ball fairly flat.

Thank you! Lovely suggestions. Can't wait to play that biyatch again.

"A kiss is a lovely trick designed by nature to stop speech when words become superfluous..."

Break the rythm and keep the ball low with slices and try to get to net whenever you can get on to the attcking side of things.

Also, a good tactic against this kind of player that often goes unused is playing the ball with very little pace down the middle of the court. Of course, at a high level you will get spanked for this but assuming you are not playing Blake you will usually get results. Itis surprisingly hard to attack a ball that comes down the middle of the court if you hit the ball fairly flat.

Yep, taking the pace off the ball will frustrate most players, not just the ones who go for it. It might be considered a bit slimy in some circles...but it usually works (except as noted against the very best...and then they'll be winning anyway ).